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Canned goods producer raises export prices
Canned fruit and vegetable producer Lao Agro Industry Company (LAICO) will increase export prices by 15 to 20 percent this month.
“We must raise our prices because we are facing spiralling production costs and increases in overhead and fuel costs,” said a senior company official, Mr. Chanin Awakulpanich, yesterday.
The company produces canned sweetcorn, pickled garlic and cabbage, rambutan in syrup, baby corn in brine, bamboo shoots, sweetcorn milk and palm seeds on its 5-hectare site in Thoulakkhom district, Vientiane province.
It previously exported at US$10 per 2kg of canned sweetcorn, “but now the price is US$11 to US$12 per can,” Mr Chanin said.
Canned palm seeds previously sold for 159,600 kip per 22 kg, but are now 15 to 20 percent higher.
The company's canned products are sold domestically and exported to the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Vietnam and Thailand.
The company uses a form of oil as its energy source for processing. The cost of the oil rose from 4,500 kip per litre in January to over 5,000 kip in February, and is now 5,700 kip per litre.
Individual wages are now between 25,000 to 30,000 kip per day because fuel prices have impacted people's daily lives.
The price of imported cans has increased in the world market because manufacturers must also pay more for fuel for energy, processing and transportation.
Foreign currency values have also fallen which affects the company's production costs as purchase agreements are negotiated in foreign currency.
In Vientiane, petrol stations are now selling premium petrol for 11,810 kip per litre, regular petrol for 10,640 kip per litre and diesel for 9,670 kip per litre.
The rise in petrol prices varies by 150 to 300 kip per litre around the country according to a report from the Price Planning and Marketing Division of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Singapore (AP) reported that oil prices fell below US$107 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after a credit agency cut the outlook of its US rating, raising concerns about economic growth and crude demand.
LAICO uses raw materials sourced from forests and farms in Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang, Borikhamxay and Vientiane provinces, although some vegetables are imported.
It can produce 3,600 tonnes of canned fruit and vegetables per year. About five percent of products are sold in the domestic market, with the remaining 95 percent being exported.
vientiane times
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